Volume 1, number 1 of this publication was issued in February 1957. Its purpose: to supplement and update information in the Occupational Outlook Handbook. According to introductory text, the Occupational Outlook provided counselors with "current information on employment trends and outlook, based primarily on the continuous research and statistical programs of the Bureau of Labor Statistics." (Quarterly became part of the magazine’s title beginning with volume 2, number 3.)

Back then, the publication was a collective effort. Unlike today’s Occupational Outlook Quarterly content, which is produced entirely by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), four other U.S. Department of Labor agencies and the Veterans Administration assisted BLS in the development of early issues.

The following excerpts are from the debut issue. Some topics are familiar: the need for skilled workers, an analysis of worker traits, and the growing importance of education. But the articles also show how much work has changed over the past 5 decades. They describe a time when office technology was just developing; job growth was spurred by the manufacture of TVs, a relatively new invention; and women’s forays into scientific professions were novel.

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